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H. L. LITCHHELDV AND v. SPEER.

STRAW SPREADER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 19, I918.

Patented Aug. 19, 1919.

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11.1. 111011115111 AND V/SPEER.

STRAW SPREADER. 1

' APPLICATION FILED MAR. 19, I918- 1,313,637. Patented Aug. 19,1919

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H. 1. LITCHFIELD AND- v. SPEER.

STRAW SPREADER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR-19,19?-

1 ,3 1 3,637. Patented Aug. 19, 1919.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 3- Patented Aug. 19, 1919;

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L542: 7 f a h 2 I llJ I 7721 zlfif zfogs THE COLUMBIA PLANUHNPH cm, WASHINGTON, n. c.

H. L. LITCHFIELD AND V. SPEER.

STRAW SPREADER. APPLICATION FILED MAR.19.I918.

Patentd Aug. 19,1919.

8 SHEETSSHEET 5 r THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 60., wAsl-nNd'roN, n. c.

H. L. LITCHHELD AND V. SPEER.

STRAW SPREADER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR- 19. I918.

Patented Au 19, 1919.

8 SHEET$SHEET 6.

U W fr i I M ffi I v 1 g 1 fi THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAFH co., WASHINGTON. n. c.

H'. L. LITCHHELD AND V. SPEER.

STRAW SPREADER.

, APPLICATION man MAR-19.1918.

1,313,637. Patented Aug. 19, 1919.

8 SHEETSSHEET 7.

ffgl zess, I I fizz/62222 7 5 W MW I I fi THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPII CO., WASHINGTON, n. c.

H. L. LITCHFIELD AND V. SPEER.

STRAW SPREADER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 19. 19l8.

Patented Aug. 19, 1919.

8 SHEETS$HEET 3.

"12. -::'.','.'.'.1! q liiim'i V 7 f1: l l llllli j Li 395 THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPII cm. WASHINGTON, D. C.

mvrrnn STATES PATENT curios.

HENRY L. LITCHFIELD AND VICTOR SPEER, or WATERLOO, IOWA; SAID SPEEB,

- ASSIGNOR 'ro SAID LITCHFIELD.

STRAW-SPRE ADER.

Application filed March 19.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HENRY L LrroH- FIELD and VICTOR SPEER, citizens of the United States, residing at Waterloo, county of Blackhawk, State of Iowa, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Straw-Spreaders, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

Our invention relates to the art of distributing or spreading loose material from a vehicle over a field or other surface across which the vehicle is traveling; and has to do more particularly with the spreaders or distributers adapted to handle straw, manure containing a considerable amount of straw, or other comparatively light, bulky material.

The handling of light, bulky materials, to which we shall hereafter refer simply as straw, introduces problems quite different from those that are encountered in handling ordinary manure and therefore the ordinary manure spreader cannot be used to advantage for this purpose.

One of the special problems is to secure a vehicle box or body which will 'hold'a large quantity of straw and at the same time be capable of being loaded easily and of being drawn or moved about with the same facility as an ordinary farm wagon or spreader. Another problem arises in the breaking up of the load and distributing the comparatively light material on the ground without having it whipped about by the winds before it reaches the ground. The only practicable way in which straw or the like can be handled is to unload from the top of the load and this introduces the further problem of relieving the pressure due to bunches of material and overcoming other conditions which would militate against a regular feed of the material to the ultimate. distributing device or mechanism.

Viewed in one, of its aspects our invention may be said to have for its object to produce a simple and novel spreader which will permit straw to be handled conveniently in Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug. 19, 1919.

191s. Serial No. 223.263.

large quantities and be distributed uniformly over asurface to be covered.

. Incarrying out our invention we employ a vehicle having av body or rack of large capacity and, in order to keep the top low enough to permit convenient loading, secure stability and prevent swaying and bring the discharge point for the straw close to the surface over which a vehicle is traveling, we make the rack much wider than the ordinary manure spreader, or substantially as wide as the ordinary hay or straw rack used on farms; and we mount the rack on a bed supported on wheels whose tread is as wide as or wider than the rack in such a manner that the bed comes close to the ground and all four corners are required to move up and down with the corresponding wheels. In order to bring the bed of the vehicle close to the ground, it is necessary that it be underslung and that wheels of comparatively small diameter be employed. We secure capacity for short turning movements as well as substantially the same rigidity of support for the two front corners ofthe rack as is obtained at the rear corners, by eliminating the usual fifth wheel and mounting the journals for the front wheels so that they may turn about vertical axes passing through the ends of the front axle. Therefore, viewed in one of its aspects, our invention may be said to have for its object to produce a simple and novel form of vehicle of the wagon type which shall be capable of holding and conveying large quantities of loose bulky material, possess great stability, be flexible in operation, and be low enough to make loading easy and unloading practical, and to maintain a broad, stable, supporting base adaptedto the pepiuliiar needs of vehicles of the nature speci- For the purpose of unloading the straw we employ a swinging frame having thereon an endless rake or toothed conveyer which rakes off the top of the load and delivers it to a beater wheel which discharges the straw upon the ground. Other objects of our invention are to produce a simple and novel construction which will permit the employment of a swinging conveyer frame considerably shorter than the length of the rack, so that when the conveyer frame stands in an upright position, it does not bring the center of gravity of the spreader so high as to interfere with its stability; to provide for automatically raising and lowering the con veyer frame and for both automatically and manually controlling the raising and lowering operations; to provide for automatically varying the rate at whlch the conveyer is fed into the-work in order to compensate for the varying conditions that are encountered as the distribution progresses; to insure against clogging of the working parts by reason of bunching straw or straw which wraps itself about rotating parts; and provide an arrangement of'pins or teeth on the conveyer and guards and relieving springs between the conveyor and the beater wheel which will insure that the straw will be delivered regularly to the beater wheel in a fluffy condition and be thoroughly scattered by the beater wheel.

The various features of novelty whereby our invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed' out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of our invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a spreader arranged in accordance with. a preferred form of our invention, showing the conveyer frame lowered about halfway;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale, showing only the rear end of the spreader;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of so much of the spreader as. is shown in Fig. 2

Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the rack with the conveyer frame and its supporting cables for the frame, parts being omitted and other parts being broken away for the sake of clearness;

Fig. 5 is a central vertical longitudinal section through the rear end of the spreader, looking from the right toward the left in Fig. 3; I

ig. 6 is a section taken approximately on line 66 of Fig. 3, the beater wheel and some of the driving mechanism being omitted;

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the rear end of the spreader, the conveyer and conveyor frame and operating means therefor being omitted;

Fig. 9 is a section taken approximately on line 99 of Fig. 1; and

Fig; 10, isa detail showing an element of the clutch on the main counter-shaft and a portion of one of the differentials between the counter-shaft and one of the rear wheels of the spreader.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents an approximately rectangular bed or frame, preferably made of structural steel, as 1llustrated, hung beneath front and rear axles,

' reason of the capacity of the front wheels to turn about the vertical pivots.

As will be seen in Fig. 9, the two axle members 5 are provided with forwardly projecting arms, 8, 8, which are connected to a wagon tongue, 9, by means of rods or links, 10, 10. With this arrangement, the wheels are caused to turn about their pivots when the wagon tongue is swung toward one side or the other from a central position.

Arranged upon the supporting frame is adeep body or rack, 11, having an approximately horizontal bottom, 12, and being open at the top and at the rear. At the front end of the rack, adjacent to the right hand side is a drivers seat, 13.

Just behind the rear end of the rack and at a short distance above the plane of the bottom or floor of the latter is a transverse horizontal shaft, 14, on which is mounted one end of arectangular frame, 15, having a length considerably less than the length of the rack and a width sufficiently less than the interior width of the rack to permit the frame to swing easily from an approximately vertical position at the rear of the rack into anapproximately horizontal position just above the floor of the rack. The front end of the rack is peculiarly shaped, there being a downwardly and rearwardly inclined wall, 16, extending from a point about halfway down from the top of the rack to the bottom or floor and joining the latter in proximity to the position which the front end of the swinging frame occupies when the latter is completely lowered. Thus the front end of the body or rack forms with the imaginary surface of revolution of the front end of the rectangular frame a space of considerable capacity becoming gradually narrower toward the bottom; permitting a considerable body of straw to be carried'beyond the front end of the swinging frame and to be fed thereto automatically as the load is raked away as will be hereinafter described. In other words, by this simple exped-ient it becomes possible to employ a swinging frame which is much shorter than theefi'ective length of the body or rack; thus not only making the apparatus lighter, but

adding considerably to the stability of the spreader when the swinging frame is in an upright position. The swinging frame has made longer than others.

asv shown.

a broad fiat transverseboard or plate, 17 extending across the same just above or in front of the shaft lt-so as to act as a shield. or guard, as will hereinafter be explained, to preventstraw from becoming wrapped around the shaft when the machine is in operation. On the shaft 14 are a series of sprocket wheels, 18, illustrated as three in number one of the sprocket wheels being at approximately the longitudinal center of the frame and the other two being in alinement with the side members of the frame. At the free end of the frame are sprocket wheels, 19, equal in number to the sprocket wheels 18, and similarly spaced. Endless sprocket chains, 20, extend longitudinally above and underneath the frame, each passing around one of the sprocket wheels 18 and the corresponding sprocket wheel 19. The chains are connected together by .a

series of. transverse cross bars or slats, 21,

provided with outwardly projecting pins or teeth, 22. The pins orteeth, for apurpose to be hereinafter explained, are preferably not made of uniform length throughout the conveyer, some of them being preferably Thev two side members of the swinging frame are provided with or constitute tracks or fails on which the upper halves; of the two side chains lie. Beneath the intermediate chain there is preferably a central track or rail, 23. The side members of the swinging frame are provided with upwardly projecting ledges,

.24, along their outer, edges, .to prevent lateral displacement of the conveyer. While the upper half of the conveyer rests upon tracks or rails, the under half hangs loosely I The swinging conveyer frameis provided near its front end at opposite sides thereof, with guiding shoes, 25, which are adapted to engage with the inner sides of the side walls of the rack to guidethe free end Of the frame in its up anddown movements."

The swinging frame issupported as follows; Above and somewhatinrear of the [shaft 1 1 is a horizontal transverse shaft, -27, on each endof which is an'relongated spool, 28. Cables, 29, each attached atone end to one ofthe spools, pass upwardly over elongated rollers, 30,: each supported above one-of the spools 28, preferably at a level higher than the top of the rack, each having a. length about equal to the length of one of the spools. Each of the cables, after passing over one of the rolls, is carried around a pulley or wheel, 31,

mounted on the corresponding side member of the swinging frame, then back OVGI;L wheel or pulley, 32, lying co-axialWith one of therollers 30 and in the plane of the corresponding wheel or pulley 31. From the pulleys or wheels 32, the cables pass to suitable anchoring points, 33, on the side members of the swinging frame. It will be seen that with this arrangement, the anchoring point of each cable moves only one-third as'fast as the opposite end which is attached to one of the spools when the shaft carrying the spools is rotated. A suitable brake or counter-balancing device is associated with the spool shaft so that the weight of the swinging frame and its conveyer will not be sufficient to unwind the cablesfrom the spools. In the arrangement shown, see Fig. 5, the shaft 27 is supported between a pair of separated bearing blocks, 34,- between which the shaft 27 may be clamped with any desired degree of pressure by means of clamping bolts, 35.

It will be noted that'the spools 28 decrease"gradually in diameter from their outer ends toward their inner ends towhich' the ends of the cables are attached. Thus, when the cables arecompletely wound up on the spools, that is when the swinging frame is upright, the first turns to be unwound upon any subsequent lowering of the frame are those of large diameter at the large ends of the spools; as the lowering of the frame proceeds, it is at a gradually decreasing speed for a given speed of the spool supporting shaft 14.

In rear of the lower rear end of the swinging frame is placed a beater wheel,

37,. mounted on a horizontal shaft, 38, which-preferably lies at some distance above the plane of the bottom or floor12 of the rack. The beater wheel is of any usual type, but preferably has radially projecting pins or teeth, 39," distributed lengthwise and circumferentially ofthe same, the teeth being alternately long and short There is a considerable gap between therear end of the floor or bottom of the rack and the beater wheel, and this gap is bridged by a comb constituting a series 'ofresilient parallel fingers, 40, projecting rearwardly into proximity to the beater wheel. This comb 'formsa yielding bottom. which will permit ranged'on edge'in front of the beater wheel andextends from a transverse support, 42, above the beaterwheel, to which support the fingers are attached, into proximity to the rear ends of the fingers 4:0. The comb composed of the fingers 41 serves as a guard to prevent the straw from being packed upon the beater wheel, serving to arrest the straw while permitting the passage of the teeth of the beater wheel through the same and into the mass of straw lying against it.

The shafts 14, 27 and 38 are all driven from the rearewheels of the spreader. .In the arrangement shown, we have mounted on the frame of thespreader inrear of the rear axle a counter-shaft, 44. To each of the rear wheels is fixed a large driving sprocket, 45, over which passes asprocket chain, 46, engaging with a sprocket wheel, 47, loose on the shaft 44 but connected therewith in such a way that when the spreader is moving ahead and both of the rear wheels are revolving at the same speed, the two sprocket wheels 47 will be clutched to the shaft 44 and will co5perate in driving it; while, on the other hand, if one of the rear wheels of the spreader is rotating more rapidly than the other, the corresponding sprocket wheel on the shaft 44 will serve as the driving member and the other sprocket wheel will simply lag behind. This may conveniently be accomplished by hinging. to some member, 48, fixed to the shaft 44 a spring-held arm or pawl, 49, having a shoulder adapted normally to lie in the path of the lug 50 on the corresponding sprocket wheel; the parts being so proportioned that when the sprocket wheels are rotated, during the forward movement of the spreader, the lugs 50 engage the shoulders on the arms or pawls, 49, from the rear and thus drive the shaft 44 ahead.

The member 48 on the right hand side of the spreader is provided on its outer side face with clutch teeth, 51, adapted to cooperate with complementary clutch teeth on a sprocket wheel, 52, slidable lengthwise of the counter-shaft. It will be seen that whenever the spreader is moving forward, the counter-shaft will be revolving and therefore, by providing suitableconnections between the sprocket wheel 52' and; the various shafts to be driven, the rotation of these latter shafts may be controlled by simply shifting the sprocket wheel 52 into and out of clutching engagement with the corresponding member, 48, fixed to the counter-shaft. The sprocket wheel 52 may be shifted into and out of a working position in any suitable way, preferably through suitable connections from a lever, 53, mounted on the side of the rack within easy reach of the driver in the drivers seat, 13. Since these connections are well known mechanical expedients, I shall not describe them in detail but on the drawings indicate them as a whole by the reference characters 54 and 55.

On the shaft 14 is a sprocket wheel, 56, in the same plane as the sprocket wheel 52, and a sprocket chain, 56*, passes over'these two sprocket wheels. Fixed to the shaft 14 is a second sprocket wheel, 57, while on, the shaft, 38, of the beater wheel is a small sprocket wheel, 58. A sprocket chain, 59, passing over the sprocket wheels 57 and 58 forms the driving connection between the shaft 14 andthe beater wheel s h aft, It will be seen that when the clutch is thrown in names? by the driver so as to cause the sprocket wheel 52 to rotate, the driving shaft for the endless conveyer and also the beater Wheel shaft are set into rotation, the direction of rotation being the same as the direction in which therearwheels of the spreader are rotating.

It is desirable that the raking conveyer be lowered into the straw by a step by step movement which may be-controlled to give any desired rate of feed, and it is also desirable that the lifting of the-conveyor frame take place with a considerabledegree of rapidity and preferably by a continuous movement. To this end we have provided two separate driving connections between the spool shaft, 27 and the shaft 14; One of these driving connections comprises a sprocket chain, 61,

passing over a sprocket wheel, 62, fixed to the shaft 14, and a sprocket wheel, 63, loose on the spool shaft 27. The sprocket wheel, 63, has on its outer side face clutch teeth, 64", adapted to be engaged by complementary teeth on a clutch sleeve, 65', slidable length-wise of the shaft 27 but held against rotation relatively thereto. In Fig. 3, the clutch sleeve is shown out of coiiperative relation with the clutch teeth, 64, but if the sleeve be moved toward the left, the sprocket wheel 63 will be clutched to the shaft 27 and the latter will be turned in the same directions' as the shafts l4 and 38 when -the spreader is traveling ahead. v i

The step by step rotation of the shaft27 is obtained as follows: On the shaft is loosely arranged a ratchet wheel, 66, so positioned that the clutch sleeve lies between it and the sprocket "wheel 63. The ratchet wheel hasclutch teeth, 67, on the face" next to the clutch sleeve, these teeth being adapted, to cooperate with complementary teeth on the clutch sleeve, On the rack, in the plane of the ratchet wheel, is mounted a swinging arm, 68, on which is carried a double pawl device, 69, adapted to engage the teethon the ratchet wheel and turn the latter stepby step when the arm 68 is swung about its pivot, The arm 68 is connectedjto an eccentric strap, 70, surrounding an eccentric, 71, fixed to the shaft 14. Therefore, as the shaft 14 revolves, the eccentric oscillates the arm 68 and actuates the ratchet Wheel.

The angle through which the'ratchet wheel proportioned that the ratchet wheel is r0- tated in the opposite direction from that in which the rear wheels of the spreader, and consequently the shafts 14 and 38 rotate. Therefore, when the ratchet wheel is clutched to the shaft 27, the latter is turned in the opposite direction from that in which the sprocket connections drive it; this being in the direction tounwind the cables and permit the swinging frame to be lowered gradually.

It will be seen that when the clutch sleeve on the spool shaft 27 is in a neutral position, out of clutching relation with both the sprocket wheel 63 and the ratchet wheel 66, the spool shaft will remain idle while the spreader is traveling and the brake will hold 1t against rotation, so that the swinging conveyer frame will remain in whatever posit1on it may at the moment be occupyin Suitable operating connections for the clutc sleeve, including a hand lever,-76, within easy reach of a driver sitting in the drivers seat, permit the driver to control the swinging movements of the frame at will. It is desirable to have not only manual controlling means for stopping the movement of the swinging frame but also automatic stopping means which will cause it to come to rest whenever either the upper or downward limit of its movement is reached. We have therefore combined with the manual controlling device for the clutch sleeve automatic controlling means which will always cause the clutch sleeve to be brought to its neutral position whenever the frame has been swung completely up or down. In the arrangement shown, as will be best seen from Figs. 3, 6 and 7, the clutch sleeve is operated by a fork or yoke, 77, on the lower end of an upright rotatable rod, 78. On the upper end of the rod is a laterally projecting actuating arm, 79. Between the arm 79 and the hand lever 76 at the drivers seat is an actuating bar, 80, connected at its front end to the lever and having at its rear end a suitable connection with the arm 79 as for example, an eye, 81, through which the arm- 79 is slipped. The arm 79 is preferably hinged to the upper end of the rod 78 so that it may swing about a horizontal axis and rides over a notched segment, 82; being yieldingly held in'contact with this'segment by a'spring, 83. The segment preferably has three notches, one for the neutral position of the clutch sleeve and one for each of the working positions of the latter and the parts are so arranged that the actuating arm 9 and the notches in the segment will "yieldingly hold the clutch-sleeve in any one of its three positions into which it may be brought but will permit the clutch sleeve to be shlfted when'a predetermined turning pressure is brought to bear in the actuating arm. The automatic shifting of the clutch sleeve is produced by some suitable connection between the actuating arm 7 9 and the swinging frame. In the arrangement shown, the actuating arm 7 9eis connected to aswinging arm, 84, parallelv therewith and movable about an axis parallel with the rod 78; a link, 85, connecting the free ends of the arms 79 and 84 together. On the swinging frame is a projecting post or the like, 86, which,

when the frame swings in an upright position, engages with the arm 84 and shifts it far enough to cause the clutch sleeve to be brought into its neutral position. A chain, 87, or other flexible member, is connected at one end to the arm 79 and, after passing across the top of the arm 84 which serves the purpose of a guide, it is attached to the swinging frame at such a point that when the latter is. approaching the lower limit of its swinging movement, .the vchain will be drawnztaut, causing the clutch controlling shaft, 78, to be turned and the clutch sleeve to be shifted into itsneutral position when the swinging frame reaches such lower limit of its movement. I In the drawings the swinging 'conveyer frame is shown making an angle of about forty five degrees to the horizontal but when the spreader is empty and it is to be loaded, the frame will be placed in an upright position, forming, in effect, the rear wall of the rack. By reason of our peculiar construc? tion, which secures great capacity by bringing the rack low to the ground and making it as wide as will permit the spreader to pass through the ordinary farm gate, the top of the rack is low enough to perm1t the loading to be done by one man. After the rack has been loaded, the clutches being thrown out, the spreader may be drawn to the field where the straw is to .be distributed, in the same way as an ordinary loaded wagon. By reason. of the broad wheel base and the comparatively low center of gravity, the loaded spreader is very stable and it will travel smoothlyand without danger of tipping over even under the most awkward conditions. The stability is further increased by .reasonof the fact that there is no fifth wheel whichpermits the load to rock or sway on its supports. Short turns may be made with absolute safety because of the manner in which the front or steering wheels are mounted. When the field. over which the straw is to be distributed is reached, the pawl and ratchet lowering mechanism for the conveyer framehavin'g first been properly adjusted, the main clutch is thrown in and the clutch sleeveon the spool shaft is engaged with the ratchet wheel. All shafts, except the spool shaft, will now be rotated in the same direction as the rear wheelssof the spreader; the result being that that portion 91- the ra i eenveyer in engagement with the straw begins to travel down, tearing quantities of straw loose from the mass and finally delivering them in front of the beater wheel; the beater wheel revolves rapidly in the brake and permitting the conveyer frame I to descend upon the load through the action of gravity. The two combs or sets of guard fingers serve not only to prevent the mechanism from being clogged, butthey also cooperate with the pins or teeth on the beater wheel to tear apart the straw as it comes from the traveling rake; so that the straw, when it finally leaves the spreader, has been thoroughly loosened up so that an .even spread of straw may be obtained if it can be caused to reach the ground without being carried out of the path into which it is thrown by the beater wheel. The floor of the-rack is only a short distance above the ground and the beater wheel extends even closer to the ground. Consequently the straw has only a short distance to travel after it leaves the beater wheel and, since it is moving at. a high speed, its direction will be unchanged by winds which may be blowing. This is of great importance because of the lightness of straw compared to its superficial area, the momentum which can be given to the straw by the beater wheel will not be suflicient to prevent the straw from being whipped out of its course by the wind if the straw has to travel very far be.- fore reaching the ground.

The top of the load is comparatively light and fluffy but, as the bottom is approached, the density increases. Consequently, in order todischarge the straw at a constant rate, the speed at which the traveling rake is low.-

cred must be varied as the distribution pro-. This is' accomplished by the pe.--

gresses; culiarly shaped spools which cause the cables to beunwound at a gradually decreasing rate during the first portion of the down.- ward movement of the swingingrake. In addition to the increasing density, there is also the factor of that section of the load which lies in front of the are which the front end of the swinging rake describes. As the rake is lowered into the load, this body of straw in the front end of the rack progressively drops down within reach of the traveling rake; the inclined front end in the lower half of the rack insuring that all of the strawin the front. end of the rack will be fed-down to the rake.

1 We have found that it is advantageous to make the teeth of the rake of various lengths, the longer teeth entering well into the mass of straw and tearingtor fluffing the surface, the-loosened straw beingthen carried along by the shorter teeth. The step by step low allel with and adjacent to the ering of the rake is also an advantage because it gives a chattering or jarring contact between the rake and the load which insures proper penetration of the teeth and uniform feeding. l v

As the swinging conveyer frame approaches a horizontal position, the chain be tween the frame and the actuating mechanism for the clutch sleeve on the spool shaft is drawn taut and finally, 'when the frame reaches a position which will permit the last of the straw to be raked along the floor of the rack, the clutch sleeve will be shifted into -a neutral position and'the spool shaft will cease rotating. On his way to the loadingpoint, the driver, without leaving his seat, shifts the clutch sleeve on the spool shaft so as to clutch the sprocket wheel to the shaft. Then, while the spreader is traveling ahead, the spool shaft will be automatically turned in the proper direction to wind up the cables and raise the swinging frame. When the swinging frame reaches its approximately upright position the post or tripping device'on the frame strikes the actuating arm for the clutch sleeve on the spool shaft, shifting it in the opposite direction from that in which it is carried by the chain as the swinging frame reaches the lower limit of its movement, causing the clutch sleeve .to be thrown into its neutral position and the spool shaft to be stopped.

The supporting frame for the rack, the rack, and the swinging frame carrying the raking conveyer are all so jointed that they will yield as the spreader travels over rough ground, so asto accommodate themselves to the surface irregularities without introducing injurious strains or causing the swinging structure 'to bind.

While we have illustrated and described with particularity only a single preferred form of our invention, we do not desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which come within the terms employed in the defi nition of our invention constituting the appended claims.

WVe claim: v

1. A. vehicle comprising a] broad deep body, or rack underslung from front and rear supporting wheels so as to bring the bottom thereof close to the ground, a long frame hinged at one end to the rear end of the body or rack so as to be capable of swinging from an approximately upright position into a position approximately parbody or rack, raking mechanism carried by said frame for feeding the top of the load toward the rear, and means at the rear end of the body or rack for receiving material from said raking mechanism and discharging it directly clownward upon the ground.

2. In a spreader, front and rear pairs of wheels, the wheels of each pair being spread apart more widely than in the ordinary farm wagon, a frame hung from said wheels and lying below the axes thereof, a broad deep body or rack supported by said frame and thus having its bottom brought close to the ground, means for feeding material in the body or rack toward one edge of said bottom, and means in proximity to said edge adapted to act on the material as it passes over said edge and assist the action of gravity in causing said material to fall directly upon the ground.

3. In a spreader, frontand rear pairs of wheels, the wheels of each pair being spread apart more widely than in the ordinary farm wagon, a frame hung fro-1n said wheels and 1 ing below the axes thereof, a broad deep ody or rack supported'by said frame and thus having its bottom brought close to the ground, means for feeding material toward one'edge of the bottom of said body or rack, and a beater wheel arranged in proximity to said edge and adapted to rotate in a direction to act on the material as it passes: over said edge to assist the action of gravity in causing such material to fall directly upon the ground. f

4. A vehicle comprising a wheeled body or rack, distributing mechanism including an endless rake having a width approximately equal to the width of the body or rack and a length considerably less than the length of the latter, said rake being mounted so as to be capable of swinging bodily about an axis passing through one end of the same in proximity to one end of the bottom of the body or rack, and the lower portion of the wall of the body or rack opposite the aforesaid end being inclined so that the path of movement of the front end of the rake and said portion converge downwardly from points in a horizontal plane above a similar plane passing through the upper run of the rake when the latter is in its lowermost posi tion. 5. A vehicle comprising a wheeled body or rack open across the rear in the vicinity of the bottom thereof, a structure considerably shorter than the length of the upper portion of the body or rack movable downwardly through the body or rack and provid'ed with means for engaging with the top of the load and feeding it toward the open end, and the front wall of said body or rack being constructed to form with the path of movement of the front end of said raking structure a space extending across the body or rack and narrowing progressively from the top toward the bottom. I V

6. A vehicle comprising a wheeled body or rack open across the rear in the vicinity of the bottom thereof, a swinging structure arranged in said body or rack and supported so as to swing about a transverse axis in the vicinity of the bottom at the rear end, said swinging structure having thereon an endless traveling rake, and the front wall of said body or rack being shaped to form with the path of travel of the front end of the rake a space extending across the width of the body or rack and narrowing progressively from the top toward the bottom, a portion of said front wall extending from the bottom to a point above the lowermost position of the rake being inclined abruptly toward the rear.

7. A vehicle comprising a wheeled body or rack'so constructed as to bring the bottom thereof close to the ground, the rear of the body or rack in the vicinity of the bottom being open, the front end of the body or rack being gradually inclined downwardly and rearwardly, a swinging structure of approximately the width of the body or rack and of a length less than the length of the top of the latter mounted so as to swing about a transverse axis passing through one end thereof in the vicinity of said open end so as to swing from an approximately upright position into an approximately horizontal position adjacent to the bottom of the body or rack, and an endless rake on said structureadapted to engage with the top of the load and feed it toward the open end of the body or rack, said front wall forming with the imaginary surface of revolution of the front end of said swinging structure a funnel-shaped space of considerable capacity.

8. :A vehicle comprising a wheeled body or rack so constructed as to bring the bottom thereof close to the ground, the rear of the body or rack in the vicinity of the bottom being open, the front end of the body or rack being gradually inclined downwardly and rearwardly, a swinging structure of approximately the width of the body or rack and of a length less than the length of the top of the latter mounted so as to swing about a transverse axis passing through one end thereof in the vicinity of said open end so as to swing from an approximately upright position into an approximately horizontal position adjacent to the bottom of the body or rack, an endless rake on said structure adapted to engage with the top of the load and feed it toward the open end of the body or rack, and a beater wheel at the rear end of said body or rack adapted to receive the material raked from the load and discharge it downwardly in front of the same.

9. A vehicle comprising a wheeled body or rack open across the rear in the vicinity of the bottom thereof, a structure of approximately the same length as the bottom of the body or rack movable downwardly through said body or rack and provided with means for engaging with the top of the i load and feeding it towardthe open end, the front wall of the body or rack being inclined forwardly from the bottom thereof to a point far above said structure when the latter is in its lowermost position so as to provide in the front/end of the body or rack a space of considerable capacity narrowing toward the bottom to permit the material contained in said space to feed downwardly by gravity into position to be engaged by the feeding means.

10. The combination with a vehicle, of a mechanism adapted to rake the top of the load toward one edge of the vehicle, and means for automatically lowering said mechanism step by step.

11. The combination with a vehicle, of a mechanism adapted to rakethe top' of the load toward one edge of the vehicle, and means for automatically lowering said mechanism at a speed decreasing gradually.

12. The combination with a vehicle, of a mechanism adapted to rake the top of the load toward one edge of the vehicle, and means for automatically lowering said mech anism at a speed varying inversely with the density of the load.

13. The combination with a vehicle, of a mechanism adapted to rake the top of the load toward one edge of the vehicle, and means for automatically lowering said mechanism at a speed variable in such a manner that material is removed from the load at a substantially uniform rate.

14. The combination with a vehicle, of mechanism adapted to rake the top of'the load toone edge of the vehicle, means for gradually lowering said mechanism as the load diminishes and thus maintain said mechanism in operative relation to the load, and means for varying the rate at which the raking mechanism is lowered relatively to the raking speed.

15. The combination with a vehicle, of mechanism adapted to rake the top of the load to one edge of the vehicle, means for gradually lowering said mechanism as the load diminishes and thus maintain said mechanism in operativerelation to the load, and means for automatically varyingthe rate at which the raking mechanism is lowered relatively to theraking speed so as to cause material to be raked from the load at a rate which is not dependent upon the varying conditions in the load as the unloading progresses.

16. The combination with a vehicle, of a mechanism adapted to rake the top of the load toward one edge of the vehicle, means for actuating said mechanism from the movement of the vehicle, and means for lowering said mechanism at a speed which is automatically decreased. i

17. The combination with a vehicle, of a mechanism adapted to rake the top of the load toward one edge of the vehicle, tapering spools, cables woundon said spools and connected at their free ends to said mechanism, and means for rotating said spools.

18. The combination with a vehicle, of a mechanism adapted to rake the top of the load toward one edge of the vehicle, taperingspools, cables wound on said spools and connected at their free ends to said mechanism, and means for rotating said spools through the movement of the vehicle.

19. Thecombination with a vehicle, of a mechanism adapted to rake the top of the load toward one edge of the vehicle, tapering spools, cables wound on said spools and connected at their free ends to said mechanism, and means for rotating said spools step by step for the purpose of lowering said mechanism.

20. Thecombination with a. vehicle, of a mechanism adapted to rake the top of the load toward one edge of the vehicle, means for automatically lowering said mechanism step by step as the load diminishes, and means for raising said mechanism through continuous movement.

21. The combination with a vehicle, of a mechanism adapted to rake the top of the load toward one edge of the vehicle, means for automatically lowering said mechanism at a variable speed, and means for raising said mechanism at a uniform speed.

22. The combination with a vehicle, of a mechanism adapted to rake the top of the load towardone edge of the vehicle, means for automatically lowering said mechanism step by step at a variable speed, and means for raising said mechanism at a uniform speed.

23. The combination with a vehicle, of a mechanism adapted to rake the top of the load toward one edge of the vehicle and tending to follow the load downwardly by gravity, a holding device normally restraining such mechanism against its tendency to travel downwardly, and means for overcoming the restraining influence of said holding device to permit gravity to act on said mechanism and lower the same.

24. The combination with a vehicle, of a mechanism adapted to rake the top of the load toward one edge of the vehicle and tending to follow the load downwardly by gravity, aholding device normally restraining such mechanism against its tendency to travel downwardly, and means controlled by the movement of the vehicle for intermittently overcoming the restraining influence of said holding device to permit said mechanism to be lowered step by step.

25. The combination with a vehicle, of a mechanism adapted to rake the top of the loadtoward one edge of the vehicle and tending to follow the load downwardly by gravity, a holding device normally restraim ing' such mechanism against its tendency to travel downwardly, and means controlled by the movement of the Vehicle for overcoming the restraining influence of said holding device to permitgravity to act on said mechanism and lower the same. I

26. The combination with a vehicle, of a mechanism adapted to rake the top of the load toward one edge of the vehicle and tending to follow the load downwardly as the latter diminishes, a rotatable shaft,;supporting cables extending between said mechanism and said shaft and wound on the latter, a holding device for normallyfrestraining said shaft against the tendency of said mechanism to .unwind the cables therefrom, and means for turning said shaft against the resistance of said device to per mit said mechanism to follow down after the diminishing load. I

27. The combination witha vehicle, of a mechanism adapted to rake the top of the load toward one edge of the vehicle and tending to follow the load downwardly as the load diminishes, a rotatable shaft, supporting cables extending between said mechanism and said shaft and wound' on the latter, a brake for holding said shaft against the tendency of said mechanismto rotate it and unwind the cables therefrom, and means for turning said shaft against the resistance of said brake. v

28. The combination with "a vehicle, of a mechanism adapted to rake the top of'the load toward one edge of the vehicle and tending to follow the load downwardly as the load diminishes, a rotatable shaft, supporting cables extending between said mechanism and said shaft and wound on the latter, a brake for holding said shaft against the tendency of said mechanismto rotate it and unwind the cables therefrom, and means controlled by the movement of the vvehicle for turning said shaft againstthe resistance of the brake. W I

29. The combination with a vehicle, of a mechanism adapted. to rake the top of the load toward one edge of the vehicle and tending to follow the load downwardly ,as the load diminishes. a rotatable-shaft, supporting cables extending between said mechanism and said shaft and wound on the latter, a brake for holding said shaft against the tendency ofsaid'mechanism to rotate it and unwind the cables therefrom, and means controlled by the movement of the vehicle for turning said shaft 'ste by step against the resistance of the bra e. V

30. The combination with a vehicle, of a mechanism adapted to rake the top of the load toward one edge, of the vehicle and tending to follow the load downwardly as the load diminishes, a rotatable shaft, supporting cables extending between said L mechanism and said shaft and wound on: the

tion to cause said mechanism to be lowered mechanism to be raised.

31. The combinationwith a vehicle, of a mechanism adapted to rake the top of the load toward one edge of the vehicle and tending to follow the load downwardly as theload diminishes, a rotatable shaft, supporting cables extending between said mechanism and said shaft and wound on the latter, a brake for holding said shaft against the tendency of said mechanism to rotate it and unwind the cables therefrom, and means controlled by the moveinent of the vehicle for turning said shaft s e bra e in adirection topermit the cables to be'unwound and for rotating the shaft continuously in the direction to wind up the cables when it is desiredto raise said mechamsm.

32. The combination with a vehicle, of a mechanism adapted to rake the top ofthe load toward one edge of the vehicle and support it so as to be movable downwardly by and in the opposite direction to cause said by step againstthe resistance of the gravity, a brake for normally holding said mechanism against downward movement, and means controlled by the movement of the vehicle-for overcoming the resistance of said brake and permitting said mechanism creasing speed. I

to move downwardly at a gradually de- 33. Thecombination with a vehicle, of a mechanism adapted to rake the top ofthe load toward one edge of the wheeled vehicle and support it'so as'to be movable downwardly by gravity, a rotatable shaft, supporting cables extending between said mech anism and said shaft and wound on the latter, driving'mechanism between the wheels of the vehicle and said shaft for turning itcontinuously in one direction, drivingmechanism between said wheels and said shaft for turning said shaft step by step in the opposite direction, and means for bringing either of said driving mechanisms into operative relation to the shaft andthe other driving mechanism into an inoperative relation to the shaft.

34. The combination with a vehicle, of a mechanism adapted to rake the top of the shaft for turning said shaft at a variable rate in the opposite direction, and means for bringing either, of said driving mechanisms into operative relation to the shaft and the other driving mechanism into an inoperative relationto the shaft.

35. The combination With a vehicle, of'a mechanism adapted to rake the top of the load toward one edge of the vehicle, means for lowering said mechanism,means for raising said mechanism, a clutch device for connecting said mechanism with each of said means, a lever within reach of the driver of the vehicle for actuating said clutch device, and means associated with said mechanism for automatically shifting, said clutch device into a neutral position when the upper and lower limits of movement of the raking mechanism are reached. e

36. The combination with a vehicle of an endless rake mounted so as to be capable of swinging bodily about an axis passing through one end of'the same in proximity to the rear end of the vehicle, a rotatable shaft mounted on the vehicle in rear of the rake, elongated rollers supported by the vehicle above and parallel with said shaft, and supporting cables passing from said rake over said rollersand having their ends wound upon said shaft. j

37. The combination with a vehicle of an endless rake mounted so as to be capable of swinging bodily about an axis passing through one end of the same in proximity to the rear end of the vehicle, a rotatable shaft mounted on the vehicle in, rear of the rake, elongated rollers supported by the vehicle above and parallel with said shaft, a pulley adjacent to one end of and co-axial with each of said rollers, pulleys movable with the rake, and supporting cables each passing from an anchoring point on the rake over one of the pulleys adjacent to one of the rollers and then back over the corresponding pulley on the rake and across the corresponding roller and to the aforesaid shaft upon which the free end is wound.

38. The combination with a vehicle,,of mechanism adapted to rake the top of the load toward one edge 'fof the vehicle,.means for automatically lowering said mechanism to keep it in contact with. the diminishing load, and manually-controlled means for arresting the downward movement of said mechanism at any desired point.

.39. The combination with a vehicle, of a mechanism including an endless rake adapted to rake the top of the load toward one edge of the vehicle, means for driving the rake continuously, and means for automatically lowering said mechanism step by step.

40. The combination with a vehicle, of a mechanism adapted: to rake the top of the load toward one edge of the vehicle, and

isiaesr means for raising and lowering said mechanism and automatically arresting it at the two limits of its movement, and means for manually arresting the up and down movements of said mechanism at any desired point between said limits.

41. A vehicle with a conveyer mounted so as to rake the top of the load from one end to the other of the vehicle, said conveyer being provided with raking teeth of various lengths.

42. A wheeled vehicle having a conveyer mounted so as to rake the top of the load from one end to the other of the vehicle, said conveyer being provided with short raking pins or teeth and long pins or teeth adapted to enter deeply into the load to loosen up the surface.

43. A wheeled vehicle having a raking conveyer mounted thereon so asto rake the top of the load toward one edge of thevchicle,'a beater wheel arranged adjacent to said edge, said raking conveyer and said heater wheel each having pins or teeth of various lengths. 44. In a vehicle, a wheeled body or rack having the wheels mounted so as to prevent relative vertical movements between the same and the adjacent portions of the body or rack, a swinging frame hinged at its rear end near'the bottom of the rear end of the body or rack, saidflswinging frame having a width approximately equal to the width of the body or rack and being of considerable length, an endless raking conveyer mounted on said swinging frame, the, body or rack and the swinging frame being so jointed that they will yield whenthe vehicle is passing over irregularground so as to accommodate themselves to the irregularities of surface without straining or binding.

, 45. In a vehicle, a body orrack, an endlessrake mounted so as to swing bodily up and down in the body or rack about an axis passing through one end of the endless rake structure andthrough one end of the body or rack, and guiding shoes on the sides of the free end of the endless rake structure adapted to engage with the sides .of thebody or rack in order to hold the endless rake properly centered during its up and down movements.

46. A vehicle having a body or rack provided with rearwardly projecting yieldable fingers at the rear end of the bottom thereof, abeater wheel revolubly mounted in rear of and in proximity to said fingers and having pins or teeth adapted to pass tliroughthe spaces between the fingers.

47. vehicle having a body or rack providedwith rearwardly extending yieldable fingers at the rearend of the bottom thereof, a: beater wheel mounted in rear of said fingers and previded with pins or teeth adapted to pass through the spaces between said fingers, means for, rotating the beater wheel so as to cause the pins or teethflto travel downwardly while passing between said fingers, and means for positively feed.- ing material from a load in the body or rack toward thebeater wheel. v 1 L8. In a vehicle, abodyor rack having the rear end of the bottom formed ofreara wardly projecting fingers, a raking conveyer mounted in the body .or rack'so as to feed the top of theload rearwardly upon it said fingers, abeater wheel mounted in rear of said fingers. and having pins or teeth projecting through the spaces between theteeth, and means for rotating thebeater wheel in a direction to cause the teeth or pins, to

- travel downwardly while passing between said fingers. 1

4E9.-In a vehicle, a body or rack open at one end, a coinbor guard arranged above the rear end of the bottom ofthe bod'yor rack and having downwardly projecting fingers terminating in the vicinity of the plane of the bottom of the body or rack, a beater wheel arranged 'inrear of said comb and having pins or teeth adapted to project through the same, and means for positively feeding material from a load in the body or rack against said comb. I

50. Ina vehiclefa body or rack open at one end, a comb or guard arranged above the rear end of the bottom of the body or rack and having downwardly projecting fingers terminating in the vicinity of the plane of the bottom of the body or rack, a

beater wheel arranged in rear of said comb and having pins or teeth adapted to project through the same, means for positively feeding material from a load in the body or rack against said comb, and means for causing the beater wheelto rotate in the direction to make the pins or teeth travel downwardly while passing through the spaces between said fingers.

51. In a vehicle, a body or rack open at the rear end, a guard or comb arranged at said rear end and having downwardly projecting fingers extending into proximity to the plane of the bottom of the body or rack, a beater wheel arranged behind said guard or comb and having pins or teeth movable downwardly through the spaces in the same, and means for raking the top of the load in the body or rack to said guard or comb.

52. In a vehicle, a body or rack having the rear end of the bottom thereof formed of a series of rearwardly projecting yieldable fingers, a guard or comb overlying said fingers and having finger members extending down in proximity to the aforesaid fingers, means for feeding material from the body or rack into the angle formed between the two sets of fingers, and means acting through the spaces between the fingers for discharging the material from the vehicle.

53. In a vehicle, a body or rack having the rear ,end of the bottom thereof formed of a series of rearwardly projecting yieldable fingers a' guard or comb overlying said fingersi and having finger members extending down 7 in proximity to the aforesaid fingers, means for feeding materialf-rom thebody or rack into the angle formed-between. the two sets of fingers, a beater wheel arranged in rear of said guard'or comb and having pinsor teeth projecting through the spacestherein, and means for rotating said beater wheel so as to cause the pinsor teeth on the front side thereof to travel downwardly., c

1:54. In. a. machine of the character desOIibed,; a beaterhwheel, and .a yieldable combfor fingered. guard lying i'nfront of the same.

55 In, a machine of. the character described, anendless raking conveyer, a beater wheel in proximity to theconveyer, means for .dri-ving'thei conveyer. and thebeater wheel so as to cause the portions nearest each other to be;-moving in-opposite directions,

: and a fingered guard or comb arranged between the conveyer and the beater wheel.

56. In a vehicle, a body or rack open at the rear end, a revoluble shaft extending transversely across said rear end, a swinging frame approximately as wide as the body or rack mounted at one end on said shaft, an endless raking conveyer on said swinging frame, driving connections between said conveyer and said shaft, said frame having a member of considerable width extending across the same in close proximity to the shaft to form a guard for the latter.

57. The combination with a vehicle, of a raking structure provided with a traveling rake adapted to rake the top of the load toward one edge of the vehicle, a distributer adapted to receive material from the traveling rake, means for actuating the travellng rake and the beater at constant relative speeds, andmeans for lowering the raking structure at any one of a plurality ofspeeds relative to the speed of the traveling rake and of the distributer.

58. In avehicle for spreading straw or the like, having a-body mounted on wheels and a conveyer for removin the top and rear of the load without moving simultaneously the entire body of the load, in combination with a long and short tooth beater wheel at one end of the body.

59. In a vehicle for spreading straw or I the like, having a body mounted on wheels and a conveyer for removing the top and rear of the load without moving simultaneously the entire body of the load, in combination with a revolving beater wheel at one end of the body and with adjustable guards resting between said conveying device and said beater wheel.

60'. In :1. vehicle for spreading straw or the like, having a body mounted on wheels and a conveyer fol-removing the top and rear of the load Without moving simultaine ously the entire body of the loed,said eon; veyer having protruding teeth of difierent lengths; v I I I 61. In a straw spreading apparatus; at vehicle body, a mov able con'veye'r mounted inthe body in position to engagewiththe top of 21; load therein, said conveye'r hev in'g teeth of different lengths: distributed throughout the length and breadth of the conveyer.

62. In a vehicle for spreading smiw or the like, having a body mounted on wheels and a conveyer for removing the to and rear of the load" Witho'ut moving simu teneously the entire body of the load, said 0611'- veyer being flexible sidewi'seso as to adjust itself to the shape and conditions of the body within which it rests. I y

63. In a, vehicle for spreading straw or the like, having a body mounted on wheels and 21' conveyer for removing the top and rearof the load without moving simultaneously the entire 'bo' dy-ofthe load, saidcon veyerbeing flexible sidewis'e so as to" adjust itself to the shape and conditions of the body within which it rests, s'eid oonveyer having Contact points to guide it within the surrounding vehicle body. v 64. In a vehicle, a bodyor rack, an endless rake mounted s'oes' to swing bodily up and down in the body or rack about an axis passing through one end of the endless rake structure and through one end of the body 0'1" reek; and guiding means at the free end of the endless rake structure adapted to engage with the sides of the body or rack in order to hold the endless rake properly centered during its up anddoWn-Inovenients.

In testimony whereof We sign this specificetion'; .7

HENRY L. LITGHFIELD. VICTOR SPEER.

Copies of this patent niaj be obtained for five cent eeeh, bi addie ssing the commission'erro f Patents,-

Washinfitofi; I). 0. 

